Weaknesses: Mine came as half-pipe version, which takes up alot of room on the bars. So I cut them down a bit. You can't even tell.

Bottom Line:

I ride with a couple of peeps that swear by the trigger shifters... Not me, the Attack shifters are great to bad the are dirt old. I don't care about the "See-Through" window for the gear indicator, I have no time to gaze at the shifters while I'm flying down a trail. If they shift when I need them to shift then they are perfect for me.

I'm looking to move to the Shorty Rockets, next. We'll see how that goes.

reluctant at first bec i used shimano for over 10 years, got a deal and thought i'd give it a try. huge difference, crisp shifting because the grip acts directly on the cable not with a lever like shimano. in effect a smaller movement is required with the sram to shift gears which makes it feel more precise. takes a few rides to get used to the movement required to make shifts, but once you are there are no miss shifts. multiple shifts with single action is great for single track with many rolling hills close together.

Strengths: These shifters work quickly, positively, and cleanly. My first exposure to Grip Shift was the 8-speed X-Rays on my Dean Ti (which my 16-year old stepson now rides), and I found twist-shifting highly-preferable to thumbshifters and both old and new Rapidfire.

Weaknesses: The only thing I can think of is possible accidental shifting, although after observing my stepson continually mishift the above-mentioned Dean (which I don't recall having as many mishaps he he!), I believe it is due to gripping the bar with too much of the shifter barrel in hand. Myself, I slide completely off the shifter barrel EXCEPT when I am shifting. Because of this, I would NOT recommend going with the Half-Pipe version of this shifter.

Weaknesses: when I wreck I alway seem to wrench the shifter all the way to one end and when I start back I need to put it in the right geer

Bottom Line:

I have had these shifters for two years and they have been fine. Sram has also made it easy to change out the cable when needed. I enjoy being able to make minor adjustments to the derailur to get it to stop rubbing. From my experience with Shimano rapid fire when you have the rear derailur all the way to one end you have to put up with that annoying rubbing sound. These shifters have been on three different bikes that I owned and they are still functioning like the day I bought them

Use the SRAM Attack 8.0 on my second hard tail (with Gore ride Ons), in combination with Shimano XT. The shifting is not quite as precise as with shimano xtr (which I use on my other bike), especially with the chain rings, where shimano xtr is definitly super. In spite of this I love the SRAM attacks. If you want to shift more than one gear at a time, the thing moves very fast indeed. The function is logic, the design is nicer than the clumsy xtr shifters by far, the handle bar tidy. The SRAM go very well with the Maguras, another clear advantage. And they endure. The next thing I'll try instead of the xtr on my other bike is the SRAM shorties.

Strengths: Easy. Just a superior design to thumb shifters, no doubt about it. Why would you want to press a button 8 times to downshift when you can make 1 single twist. I can't figure out how rapidfire users like that better, seems silly to me. These shifters are johnny-on-the-spot with every shift. They are a nice low profile design that is very easy to disassemble and assemble. Silly rapidfire users.....

Weaknesses: They don't shift for you.

Bottom Line:

If you like pressing buttons a lot, go with shimano. I personally got tired of that crap, now when I want to shift, I have only to make a single motion. I don't have to loosen my thumbs grip on the bar to put it on the button. Buy the Attack shifters and forget about it.

Strengths: Great shifting with my Shimano XT deraillers, Nice to be able to fine-adjust front derailler (unlike Rapidfire), takes abuse and keeps on going, good grips (an improvement over previous Gripshift models).

Weaknesses: Haven't found one yet.

Bottom Line:

When I built up a new bike a couple years ago, a LBS mechanic recommended these. I had been happily using Rapidfire for a few years previously, but I was curious how the improved Gripshift worked. I decided to give them a try; I could always switch back to Rapidfire.

Well the Rapidfires are still sitting in a box in my closet.The Attacks shift great, are more adjustable, especially on the front. The grips are comfortable & I've never mis-shifted using them (unlike with a set of half-pipe shifters I tried. Those are step backward, SRAM. Get rid of them!!) I've never had to mess with them, not even change a cable in 2 years.

Great shifting, durable, easy on the hands, with no maintenance. What more could you want? A great product!

Weaknesses: Function great. I need to take apart the right one to change cables due to the material it's made out of deforming. For three years old, not a big deal.

Bottom Line:

These shifters after almost three years still work like the first day I put them on. I'm going to use them until Shimano's planned obsolense program forces me to go to nine speed. The rubber grip part is relatively durable. I replace them when I do a cable change, about once a year. I'm using Goretex cables and like to change then annually, although after a year they are still shifting fine. Why wait for a problem to happen. I'm glad to see for 2001 SRAM went with a teathered cable hatch. I've lost a few as well as others I know have. In the same amount of time, I've gone through three sets of rabid fires. Great product.

I have used the SRAM Attack for three racing seasons and they still work great. The shifter itself is decently well sealed so muddy rides are not a problem and I have yet to have to take the shifters apart. My only gripe is that there is a large increase in shifting effort when the shifter cable/housing becomes even mildly contaminated.

I have been using the shifter with Gore Ride-On cables and a Shimano XTR rapid rise rear derailleur. For the 1% of riders who actually liked rapid rise, the shifters work very well with this system. Although Gore cables can be prohibitively expensive, I have not had to do any maintenance on my shifting for over a year now.

I've used Rapidfire in the past and I think that it is a great system. However, IMHO, people with smaller hands may find Gripshift a little easier to use.

Essentially, this is a very light, simple, and durable shifter that you can probably buy for a good price from any mail-order company. Also, its a good option for those of us who are trying to stay with 8-speed for as long as possible.

Strengths: Cheap, works great, eight-speed compatible, did I say cheap

Weaknesses: none so far

Bottom Line:

Got these shifters when I was building back up my old frame with a limited amount of money. So these are used on my "second" bike, which I actually plan on riding most of the time to save the abuse on my race bike. I really like the way these shift and have to say that the way you can tune the left hand shifter is making me consider putting a twist shifter on my race bike.

I love 'em. It was $30 to add them to the bike instead of the rapid fires. I prefer the ease of being able to run through multiple gears quicker than with rapid fires and not having to take fingers off the grips. They are stiff to shift, which translates into no accidental shifting in rough terrain. Not hard to shift, but stiff.... I love 'em, recommend them, and would buy them again.

Weaknesses: - Not as crisp as Rapid Fire shifters- Rear shifting is sometimes a little too sensitive- The half-pipe version of this shifter just flat out blows

Bottom Line:

Against my better judgment, I purchased the half-pipe version of these shifters, which is the same as the standard except that the shifter extends out an extra 1.5 inches or so. The problems that I had with these shifters was partly a simple matter of preference and partly just flat out bad design. As the name [half-pipe] implies, half of the grip is the shifter, the other half is a short standard type grip but the shifter part is bulky, so you wind up with a real fat grip (opposite of what I prefer). Also, as one might imagine, when the terrain gets tough, it becomes distracting to keep from inadvertently shifting. I finally got frustrated and took a hacksaw to these over-extended babies, slapped on a good pair of Pedro's Slimwall grips, and am now happy to report that these shifters work great. Bottom line is that I recommend these shifters except that if you get the half-pipe version, make sure you have something to cut these nasty things down. I would give less than 2 chilis for the half-pipe version.

I've been using these Attacks for almost 2 yearsand continue to give me the reliability that a racer requires.A good upgrade from the 800 X raysI used to use.Shorter shifts and easy cable changes from this newer model.I'm staying with8 gears since the 9 has no real advantage in speed(34t is useless unless you are a beginner).5 flaming turds for an improved product from SRAM.

These shifters have performed reliably under a variety of conditions. I upgraded to these from X-Rays after 3 yrs of heavy use. Love the positive detentes and the ergonomic design of the grip! If you're not rabid one way or the other, rapidfire vs gripshift, I'd recommend giving the Attacks a try. Five piles of steamy goodness!!